The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine has released information about Christian churches Russia destroyed during the full-scale invasion. “Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been deliberately destroying not only cities, infrastructure and cultural heritage sites, but also religious buildings in Ukraine,” the Ministry of Culture stated on its Facebook page.

The Religion on Fire project monitored the damage to religious buildings. According to the report, as of February 2, 2025, the occupiers damaged or completely destroyed 642 religious buildings, 596 of which were Christian churches. “The Donetsk region was particularly affected, where 19 religious sites were destroyed entirely, a total of 131 were damaged, including 81 Christian churches,” the report says.

The Ministry of Culture noted that the invaders destroyed the Church of the Archangel Michael in the village of Novomykhailivka, stating that the Russians had tried to destroy it before. In 1932, the church was turned into a granary, then into a mill, and eventually it was decided to completely demolish it. Restoration of the shrine began in the 1980s.

“The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary near Pokrovsk also suffered from Russian shelling. This building survived two world wars and the Soviet destruction of churches. In 1937, the Bolsheviks closed the church and took away all the valuables. Yet, it survived all the trials, and stood until 2024,” the Ministry of Culture said. (Quelle: www.rius.ua, 14. Februar 2025)